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Laurie Baymarrwangga - Senior Australian of the Year 2012 is a true crusader for the nation

Congratulations to Laurie Baymarrwangga, indigenous community leader from north east Arnhem Land who has won the Senior Australian of the Year 2012 Award.

Laurie Baymarrwangga, aged 93, has worked tirelessly to save and pass on the priceless gifts of her culture – language, songs and customs as well as knowledge of countless generations of intimate coexistence with the sea.

Her crusade to maintain and build Indigenous knowledge began in the 1960s with the creation of a homeland and bilingual school under a tree on Murrungga, largest of the outer Crocodile Islands off the Arnhem Land coast. In 1994 she began the Yan-nhangu dictionary project to document her language, of which she is one of the last speakers.

More recently she initiated the Crocodile Islands Rangers program, with her own savings. The volunteer rangers pass on the skills of cultural and natural resource management to junior rangers and provide bio-security, ghost net retrieval, and coastal rescue and surveillance.

Mr Morrison, CEO of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA) today said that Laurie Baymarrwangga was a true crusader for the environment, Indigenous culture and the nation itself.

“As the awards recognise, we must support nation building leaders like her who work to save Australia’s unique languages and culture, champion the deep knowledge of country, give courage and conviction to those who live on their homelands and struggle against immense hardship,” said Mr Morrison.

 Read more about Laurie Baymarrwangga on our Ranger Feature page.

Banksia Award for WALFA greenhouse gas abatement partnership

 A greenhouse gas abatement partnership from western Arnhem Land was awarded the Caring for Country Indigenous Award at the Banksia Awards. The Banksia Awards, known widely as Australia's 'environmental Oscars', were announced in Sydney on the 28 October 2011.

In accepting the prize on behalf of five Indigenous ranger grups, Dean Yibarbuk, a director of Warddeken Land Manaagement, said, "The use of two toolboxes - one based on Indigenous tradition and the other with roots in science - allowed us to bring wildfire back under control in western and central Arnhem Land."

The project set an annual target of 100,000 tonnes of Co2 abatement but in the five years to 2010 it actually abated 707,000 tonnes - a 140% result against the target!

Read more in the media release, and award submission and the WALFA project.

Water Forum News

Indigenous Water Forums hosted by NAILSMA and NLC have provided opportunities for Traditional Owners in the Mataranka and Oolloo Water Allocation Plan areas to talk about water planning and management issues. Click on the links below to read more about each forum:

Mataranka Indigenous Water Planning Forum - 17 - 18 August 2011

Oolloo Indigenous Water Planning Forum - 17 - 18 October 2011 (participants pictured below)

Download the media releases for the Mataranka and Oolloo Indigenous Water Planning Forums here.

$14.7m in Commonwealth funding to boost biodiversity research in the north

NAILSMA is part of the North Australia Biodiversity Hub that will build on the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK) program to undertake critical biodiversity research in north Australia. Read full article.

CLCAC 2011 Water Forum

Over 80 people gathered on Sweers Island, Gulf of Carpentaria, Qld to talk about Indigenous water issues. Click here to find out more.

Wheel2Wheel arrives in Darwin

NAILSMA is one of ten organisations from ten different countries to be included in a 20,000 km promotional and fund raising motorcycle journey  through South East Asia by Wheel2Wheel .

Wheel2WHeel is an independent non-profit organisation created by Morgan Parker, a Brisbane entrepreneur now living in Hong Kong.

They hope to raise awareness of the work of the ten selected groups and provide them with documentary air time and donations collected via their money raising endeavours. The Wheel2Wheel team arrived in Darwin early in June.

'Wheel2Wheel is entirely self-funded to enable 100% of donations to be passed through directly to its ten selected organisations. The 20,000km plus expedition is also carbon neutral with Wheel2Wheel off-setting 100% of all emissions created.''

Wheel2Wheel visited the Crocodile Islands with NAILSMA and researcher Dr Bentley James. They recorded this video:

Wheel2Wheel Day 99: Above Arnhem Land with NAILSMA

See more videos from the Crocodile Islands on the NAILSMA Saltwater People's Network Ranger Feature web page.